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Frank Sinatra Jr. A Case Of Kidnapping Case Summary

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The Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr.: A Case Analysis Report Chrystal Vazquez Garcia School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University CRJ260: Introduction to Substantive Criminal Law Professor William Jesse Weins April 23, 2023 Introduction The Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. occurred on December 8, 1963, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and crossed state lines into Los Angeles, California. The three accomplices, Barry Keenan, Joe Amsler, and John Irwin were all captured a few days after receiving their ransom of $240,000 and letting Frank Sinatra Jr. go. This case showcases a lot of important concepts regarding criminal law such as the scopes/sources of criminal law, the elements regarding the crime of kidnapping, the …show more content…

The original defense put forth was that the entire kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. was nothing but a “hoax, a publicity stunt coordinated with people tied to the family” (Kranc, 2021). While the defense was dismissed and the defendants received a life imprisonment sentence, what happened after sentencing is a rare occurrence. Firstly, it needs to be established that Barry Keenan was a successful young man who suffered a car accident, causing him to become addicted to muscle relaxers and tranquilizers; subsequently, his addiction drove him to bankruptcy (Kranc, 2021). This chain of events is essentially what led him to create the plan to kidnap Frank Sinatra Jr. Now, there are two types of defenses to criminal liability: justifications and excuses. The defense of insanity, which is an excuse defense, is applicable in this case. Insanity is defined as “the legal term that refers to a mental disease or defect that impairs the reason and/or will to control actions” (Samaha, 2016, p. 209). Because Keenan and Amler were receiving life imprisonment, they “qualified… for psychiatric observation” (Kranc, 2021). In an interview with Gilstrap (1998), Barry Keenan states that they determined him to be “legally and mentally insane at the time of the kidnapping.” This determination of legal insanity is done by evaluating the defendant’s actions based on the jurisdiction’s insanity test. There are “four tests [that] determine whether people with mental diseases are excused from criminal liability” (Samaha, 2016, p. 212). In 1963 in the state of California, the insanity test that was used to determine Keenan as legally and mentally insane was the M’Naughten Rule. The M’Naughten rule states that a defendant must suffer a defect reason due to a disease of the mind as well as showing that

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